DeepestCover
Member
U can say goodbye to millions and millions and millions of income the pot tourists bring you then.
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Judge OKs Dutch Coffeeshop Tourist ban!
- Thread starter jack.gh
- Start date
well there ya have it folks.. hopefully co or ca will have somrthing that can take up the slack
Here ya go. I found this posted 4 hrs ago
http://news.yahoo.com/dutch-judge-upholds-ban-foreigners-buying-pot-114048591.html
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Long famous for "coffee shops" where joints and cappuccinos share the menu, the Netherlands' famed tolerance for drugs could be going up in smoke.
A judge on Friday upheld a government plan to ban non-Dutch residents from buying marijuana by introducing a "weed pass" available only to residents.
The new regulation reins in one of the country's most cherished symbols of tolerance — its laissez-faire attitude to soft drugs — and reflects the drift away from a long-held view of the Netherlands as a free-wheeling utopia.
For many tourists visiting Amsterdam the image endures — and smoking a joint in a canalside coffee shop ranks high on their to-do lists along with visiting cultural highlights like the Van Gogh Museum.
The city's left-leaning Mayor Eberhard van der Laan is hoping to hammer out a compromise with the national government.
Coffee shops also have not given up the fight. A week ago they mustered a few hundred patrons for a "smoke-in" in downtown Amsterdam to protest the new restrictions.
A lawyer for owners, Maurice Veldman, said he would file an appeal against the ruling by a judge at The Hague District court, which clears the way for the weed pass to be introduced in southern provinces on May 1.
The pass will roll out in the rest of the country — including Amsterdam — next year. It will turn coffee shops into private clubs with membership open only to Dutch residents and limited to 2,000 per shop.
The most recent figures from the government's statistics bureau says the country has more than 650 coffee shops, 214 of them in Amsterdam. The number has been steadily declining as municipalities have imposed tougher regulations, such as shuttering ones close to schools.
But the new membership rules are the most significant rollback in years to the traditional Dutch tolerance of marijuana use.
The government argues that the move is justified as a way of cracking down on so-called "drug tourists," effectively couriers who drive over the border from neighboring Belgium and Germany to buy large amounts of marijuana and take it home to resell. They cause traffic and public order problems in towns along the Dutch border.
Such issues do not exist in Amsterdam, where most tourists walk or ride bikes and buy pot purely for their own consumption.
The weed pass "doesn't solve any problems we have here and it could create new problems," said city spokeswoman Tahira Limon.
It is not just hardcore potheads taking a toke in the city. Limon said four to five million tourists visit Amsterdam each year and around 23 percent say they visit a coffee shop during their stay.
Amsterdam argues that the reasons coffee shops were first tolerated decades ago are still relevant today — they are well-regulated havens where people can buy soft drugs without coming into contact with dealers of hard drugs like heroin and cocaine.
Coffee shops also are banned from serving alcohol and from selling drugs to people under 18.
The government in The Hague said Friday there would be no exceptions to the new rules.
"Amsterdam will also have to enforce this policy," said Job van de Sande, a spokesman for the Ministry of Security and Justice.
The conservative Dutch government introduced the new measures saying it wants to return the shops back to what they were originally intended to be: small local stores selling to local people.
However the Dutch government collapsed this week and new elections are scheduled for September. It is unclear whether the new administration will keep the new measures in place.
Coffee shop lawyer Veldman called Friday's court ruling a political judgment.
"The judge completely fails to answer the principal question: Can you discriminate against foreigners when there is no public order issue at stake?" he asked.
Coffee shop owners in the southern city of Maastricht have said they plan to disregard the new measures, forcing the government to prosecute one of them in a test case.
http://news.yahoo.com/dutch-judge-upholds-ban-foreigners-buying-pot-114048591.html
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Long famous for "coffee shops" where joints and cappuccinos share the menu, the Netherlands' famed tolerance for drugs could be going up in smoke.
A judge on Friday upheld a government plan to ban non-Dutch residents from buying marijuana by introducing a "weed pass" available only to residents.
The new regulation reins in one of the country's most cherished symbols of tolerance — its laissez-faire attitude to soft drugs — and reflects the drift away from a long-held view of the Netherlands as a free-wheeling utopia.
For many tourists visiting Amsterdam the image endures — and smoking a joint in a canalside coffee shop ranks high on their to-do lists along with visiting cultural highlights like the Van Gogh Museum.
The city's left-leaning Mayor Eberhard van der Laan is hoping to hammer out a compromise with the national government.
Coffee shops also have not given up the fight. A week ago they mustered a few hundred patrons for a "smoke-in" in downtown Amsterdam to protest the new restrictions.
A lawyer for owners, Maurice Veldman, said he would file an appeal against the ruling by a judge at The Hague District court, which clears the way for the weed pass to be introduced in southern provinces on May 1.
The pass will roll out in the rest of the country — including Amsterdam — next year. It will turn coffee shops into private clubs with membership open only to Dutch residents and limited to 2,000 per shop.
The most recent figures from the government's statistics bureau says the country has more than 650 coffee shops, 214 of them in Amsterdam. The number has been steadily declining as municipalities have imposed tougher regulations, such as shuttering ones close to schools.
But the new membership rules are the most significant rollback in years to the traditional Dutch tolerance of marijuana use.
The government argues that the move is justified as a way of cracking down on so-called "drug tourists," effectively couriers who drive over the border from neighboring Belgium and Germany to buy large amounts of marijuana and take it home to resell. They cause traffic and public order problems in towns along the Dutch border.
Such issues do not exist in Amsterdam, where most tourists walk or ride bikes and buy pot purely for their own consumption.
The weed pass "doesn't solve any problems we have here and it could create new problems," said city spokeswoman Tahira Limon.
It is not just hardcore potheads taking a toke in the city. Limon said four to five million tourists visit Amsterdam each year and around 23 percent say they visit a coffee shop during their stay.
Amsterdam argues that the reasons coffee shops were first tolerated decades ago are still relevant today — they are well-regulated havens where people can buy soft drugs without coming into contact with dealers of hard drugs like heroin and cocaine.
Coffee shops also are banned from serving alcohol and from selling drugs to people under 18.
The government in The Hague said Friday there would be no exceptions to the new rules.
"Amsterdam will also have to enforce this policy," said Job van de Sande, a spokesman for the Ministry of Security and Justice.
The conservative Dutch government introduced the new measures saying it wants to return the shops back to what they were originally intended to be: small local stores selling to local people.
However the Dutch government collapsed this week and new elections are scheduled for September. It is unclear whether the new administration will keep the new measures in place.
Coffee shop lawyer Veldman called Friday's court ruling a political judgment.
"The judge completely fails to answer the principal question: Can you discriminate against foreigners when there is no public order issue at stake?" he asked.
Coffee shop owners in the southern city of Maastricht have said they plan to disregard the new measures, forcing the government to prosecute one of them in a test case.
Yep, looks like it got passed.
The coffee shop owner they interviewed on NPR said that they were just going to ignore the ban and allow tourists in the shops anyway.
The coffee shop owner they interviewed on NPR said that they were just going to ignore the ban and allow tourists in the shops anyway.
would that put the tourist at risk ??
Dutch citizens and owners/dealers at coffee shops I know claim it will never happen in Amsterdam. They are way to prudent about laws. They will see a rise in crime if it changes and immediately change it back.
Looks like I'm headed to Morocco instead of Amsterdam then....they LOVE US Dollars!
What a shame. I used to like to go to Amsterdam a couple of times a year and relax for a few days. Stay in a nice hotel, eat some nice Dutch food, walk around visiting the tourist attractions, hire a bike, smoke it up at the coffeeshops. In all I'd say I would drop about $3000 a year in Amsterstam itself not counting airfares.
Obviously with these new rules I'm not going there anymore. The money stays in my pocket or gets spent elsewhere. In my view the Netherlands are shooting themselves in the foot.
However it is their foot to shoot. The government has fallen which gives hope but does anyone know what the policy of the likely new coalition? Is there a more liberal freedom minded party likely to gain power?
So in the meantime.... where else? Any suggestions?
Obviously with these new rules I'm not going there anymore. The money stays in my pocket or gets spent elsewhere. In my view the Netherlands are shooting themselves in the foot.
However it is their foot to shoot. The government has fallen which gives hope but does anyone know what the policy of the likely new coalition? Is there a more liberal freedom minded party likely to gain power?
So in the meantime.... where else? Any suggestions?
growhi
Member
there is a right wing wind blowing over Europe , look at France with the national front , its a shame but i don't see things getting any better , the wider public are fed up with extreme liberalism , allot of its immigration , and perceived weak sentences for crimes , human rights laws , i personally i think Europe is ready to implode
Spain has been going strong for a decade now. It's now the PRIMO destination for cannabis tourism. However Spain now has a similar law to the one in the Netherlands, requiring you to join a private club to purchase cannabis.
See, even Arjan cannot pull this one off. And if you think the Dutch Coffeeshops are going to ignore this law, they can try, but they'll probably get shutdown. That is the real intent behind the law, to provide yet another legal pretext for shutting down coffeeshops.
All they'll have to do is walk in to any coffeeshop and check IDs. If there are any non-residents they'll have legal reason to shut down the shop on the spot.
See they were able to shutdown hundreds of coffeeshops over the past decade because they didn't follow the rules...
And all of this is due to the US DEA as usual telling sovereign nations how to run their countries.
See, even Arjan cannot pull this one off. And if you think the Dutch Coffeeshops are going to ignore this law, they can try, but they'll probably get shutdown. That is the real intent behind the law, to provide yet another legal pretext for shutting down coffeeshops.
All they'll have to do is walk in to any coffeeshop and check IDs. If there are any non-residents they'll have legal reason to shut down the shop on the spot.
See they were able to shutdown hundreds of coffeeshops over the past decade because they didn't follow the rules...
And all of this is due to the US DEA as usual telling sovereign nations how to run their countries.
Now your statement in you sig line means even more. Now dont get me wrong but I love a beer as much as the next person. But to let alcohol flow easily and cannabis not is just a mystery to me. Not going into the arguement because it is obvious to me which one is the route of more death, crime, abuse, violence...etc.etc.etc.etc...
not even the almighty king of cannabis could pull it off,,
what a fuckin surprise
what a fuckin surprise
